Parallelogram
by rubix22
Summary: Even in a parallel universe where no magic or science resides, Accelerator still can't make friends.


**A/N**: While I probably should be doing other things, I found myself working on something entirely unrelated. The is the result of my procrastination. Hopefully with this out, I'll procrastinate on finishing this fanfic and actually do the things I set out to do in the first place.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late."

A boy called Accelerator mumbled an apology upon entering a classroom..

"I'm leaving early."

The black-haired boy stood at the door for a brief moment to let that statement sink in. And after that, he turned away.

"Well, see ya'."

"STOP RIGHT THERE YOU LITTLE FUCKER!"

A teacher with a face-tattoo rushed over and grabbed his shoulder before he could make it out any further. He pulled on the boy's tie and shouted.

"YOU'VE BEEN DITCHING CLASS LEFT AND RIGHT SINCE THIS SEMESTER FUCKING STARTED! WHAT THE HELL MAKES YOU THINK I'M GONNA LET YOU OFF NOW, SHITFACE!"

"Ah, ah. I took time out of my busy schedule to come here. I gotta keep working hard on earning my required attendances."

The teacher with the face-tattoo pulled on the boy's tie even harder.

"BUSY MY ASS! DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN UP TO! AND IF APPEARING FOR ONE GODDAMN MINUTE COUNTED FOR ATTENDANCE, THE WORLD WOULD BE FULL OF IDIOTS!"

"Kihara-sensei. You're disrupting the class."

A girl with seaweed-like hair and dilated eyes spoke up from her seat. Though that action was small, it appeared to cut into the teacher's mood.

"Tch."

The teacher with the face-tattoo pushed the boy back and turned aside. And the girl with seaweed-like hair went back to reading her textbook.

"Boy, you've got ten seconds to give me a good reason why I should let you slide."

The boy called Accelerator straightened out his ruffled shirt and collar. He didn't seem too shaken by the rough treatment but rather seemed indifferent to it altogether. With eyes half-open, the black-haired boy answered dully.

"I'm sick."

"_Eeeeeh? Sick?_ _What a fucking travesty…! I oughta send you to nurse's office in a body bag…!_"

Sarcasm bounced off the black-haired boy's unamused expression. He went on and pointed at his own face.

"My eyes turned red. It's a problem."

"_Then get some fucking eye drops, why don't ya! Are you retarded or some shit?_"

The boy pointed again.

"The iris."

"...?"

Upon closer inspection, it was true. The black-haired boy's irises were red.

"The hell…?"

"So I'll be leaving then."

"Eh...?"

The boy did a glance towards the girl with seaweed-like hair before turning away. He promptly began walking out again and continued on even as his teacher shouted at him in the hallway.

"H-HEY…! HEY, YOU FUCKER! COME BACK HERE!"

"Kihara-sensei. You're disrupting class again."

"LIKE HELL I CARE!"

* * *

This boy called Accelerator had missed another day at school; however, he was one of the few that had special privileges. For those who were privileged, school was not a necessity but a formality, and there was a certain leniency given to these special people. Just so long as he did his homework and stopped by class a few time a week, he was in the clear. It was a very envious position to be in and not everyone agreed to this sort of treatment, so being harassed by his peers was not too uncommon.

But whether he intended to do this or not, this boy had been taking advantage of his privileges. While still doing his school work, the black-haired boy had not been attending the days he was actually required to attend, resulting in an increasingly strained relationship between himself and the faculty. Though there were circumstances surrounding his practically nonexistent presence during those times, it was starting to get troublesome…

However, today was not a day to think about it.

"It doesn't hurt. It doesn't itch. Your eyesight is still 20/20. You seem to be perfectly healthy."

A frog-faced doctor assured the black-haired boy.

"I admit that irises turning red overnight is a strange case, but as of right now, you aren't in any apparent danger."

The doctor put his hands on his hips.

"Though, if you notice any serious changes, you should stop by here again, but other than that you're free to go."

The boy called Accelerator didn't like this. What he wanted was a logical explanation, not a pat on the back or some words of encouragement. Was he supposed to accept that the color of his eyes had become red for no reason? The black-haired boy became wary.

"_There's something you're not telling me. _"

He said this without any real basis. It was just a gut feeling coming from past experiences.

"..."

The frog-faced doctor smiled.

"Hmm? What gave me away?"

The doctor laughed. Though there was no menace in it.

"While there are things I can say about your condition, these are things that are minor and won't affect your overall well-being. Accelerator, as of right now, I can give you my word that you are in fine condition."

The frog-faced doctor raised a finger.

"Human bodies, like well-oiled machines, are able to pull through in the most unexpected of circumstances, and you seem to be adapting well to these changes. But if you need some words to ease your worries, I suppose the phrase '_if it isn't broke, then don't fix it_' applies here."

The boy glanced at the chart set to the side. The doctor had known all his personal information, but he had deliberately decided against using his real name. The fact that he called him _Accelerator_ didn't bother him, but he had to wonder if this was something that spreading throughout his medical records.

And so...

After he had left the clinic, the black-haired boy sat down in the lobby of the hospital.

A variety of options lay before him: He could go back to Nagatenjouki Academy and do something about his low attendances. He could hit the arcades and waste time there. He could just wander around and loiter in the back alleys of the city. Or he could call it a day and resign himself to the place designated as 'home'.

"..."

The black-haired boy had to carefully think about this. His days of living a fulfilling high school life were numbered, so he had to figure out the optimal method of how to enjoy his day. The first option was annoying, so that was first to go off the list. The other three options he felt varying degrees of indifference to.

_Coffee…?_

It occurred to him that his stockpile of canned coffee wasn't as large as it could be.

_That settles it then._

And so the boy called Accelerator moved to get off his seat…

However…

"_Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~_"

In front of him, a girl with silver hair stared at him.

"...?"

It appeared to be a nun.

…

The boy attempted to sidestep her, though she mirrored his movements, impeding his path.

"...!"

The boy faked a step to the left and quickly spun around the nun in right direction…! However, reacting to his fakeout, the silver-haired nun did an electric-slide-like movement that skidded her right in front of the boy again…!

"..."

"Is… there something you want?"

The nun smiled radiantly.

"Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior?"

"I'm kinda busy right now."

As the boy passed by her, the silver-haired girl latched on to his legs.

"_Nooooooooo! Pleeeeeeease! Just listen to meeeeeee! Why is it the same reaction every time…!"_

"_What the hell is your problem! Get the fuck offa me!"_

"_Neveeeeeeeeeeeeeer!"_

The comedic routine ended when the two calmed down.

The silver-haired nun dusted off her white habit and bowed down.

"Ah, well. I'm sorry for my rash behavior."

"It'd be a problem if you weren't."

The black-haired boy was for the most part very annoyed at the nun's presence. She was cutting into the time that could be better well spent on finding canned coffee. Though as events started to unfold, he began noticing the young girl's odd hair color as well as her green eyes. Was she a foreigner?

"But well… you know…"

Lifting her head, she displayed another radiant smile.

"The end of days is upon us_-_ _Wait wait wait! Please don't leave! Just… Just let me make my case…!_"

The black-haired boy held off on making a young girl cry.

"Eh… um, let me try to say this differently…"

The silver-haired girl struggled to gather her words. But as if a light bulb went off, she found some footing.

"That… That's right, isn't it! Surely you've heard of it! There's this scientific theory going around! Rather than expanding, the universe might actually be_ shrinking_! Well, I don't really know much about science, but that definitely sounds scary, right? Just like the Book of Revelation!"

Things seemed to be clicking together for the nun.

"So what if… what if the universe was shrinking in more ways than one? What if… What if there are other universes shrinking besides ours…? Umm, well… this is pretty hard to imagine…"

She was starting to get lost in her own ideas.

"Eeeeh… um… Do you watch '_Magical Powered Kanamin_'? There was this one episode where Kanamin meets a parallel version of herself from a different universe. So, say, if her universe were to shrink with ours… what might you think would happen?"

"…"

"Both should get destroyed, don't you think? Since we're shrinking, everything crunches and crashes together. But the universe is made from a bunch of the same stuff… so rather than say universes get destroyed… universes actually mesh into one another. So when everything shrinks, and different universes start to overlap into each other, and…"

"And…"

"..."

The nun became totally lost.

"What… was I trying to say again…"

The boy answered her by digging into his pockets. He took her hand placed a 50 yen coin in it.

"This should be enough."

"_So cheap!_"

* * *

The black-haired boy had finished his run to the convenient store. He passed time by sitting in the grass, drinking coffee, and throwing rocks into the nearby river. This was truly the image of a high school student living a fulfilling life.

"..."

_Hey. Come here for a second._

Memories surfaced up from an unpleasant time…

_So you don't believe in magic?_

The boy called Accelerator had many unpleasant memories, but this one was recent. He had met a strange woman who spouted out nonsense similar to that silver-haired girl.

_You should know that there are many worlds similar to ours. Each one with minor differences._

It a two summers ago. Before he got into a car wreck in attempt to save a child. And before he got involved in a social experiment that ended up miserably for him.

_It's unknown why, but there are times when these worlds are forced into nonexistence. But when this happens, what happens to the memories of that world?_

He had thought of her as a typical scammer, trying to make money with minced words. And he still did.

_It is an unpopular opinion, but I believe that's the basis for the magic you know in this world. When the memories of other worlds invade ours, these are the miracles we see today._

Thinking back on it, he had regretted it.

_And if you want proof of this magic, you can purchase these magical pair of scissors for only 1298 yen! Only for today! So cheap!_

Like with the silver-haired nun, he had given her money to leave him alone, but for some reason, he still kept some of the junk that woman threw at him.

* * *

An eventful day had occurred, and the black-haired boy was worn out. Though, as long as there weren't any other obstacles in the way between him and the residence he called 'home', he could get some rest... and once more attempt to live life the optimal way the next day, only without doctor visits, nuns, or unsavory memories.

The plastic bag carrying several warm cans of coffee swished at his side. Arriving at his destination...

"_This is… the right apartment number if I remember correctly..._"

A middle school girl with chestnut-brown hair turned to see the boy.

"Ah…?"

And behind her…

"'Misaka Misaka came to play!' says Misaka as Misaka makes the announcement!"


End file.
